Ten Things
by Jana Grace
Summary: The first thing she noticed about him was that he wasn't popular because he was a bully. He was popular because he was perfect in the eyes of so many people—kind, and funny. Athletic, somewhat intelligent, and most definitely handsome. Percabeth. [1/3]


The first thing she noticed was that he wasn't popular because he was a bully. He was popular because he was perfect in the eyes of so many people— kind, and funny. Athletic, somewhat intelligent, and most definitely handsome.

She stared at him across the cafeteria, watching as he laughed with his good friends—Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, and Nico di Angelo. They all had the same good traits as him, but to her, he seemed to stand out more.

"Annabeth?"

She jerked back to reality. Piper was looking at her intently, a humored glint lighting up her color-changing eyes.

"Are you staring at _Percy Jackson_?"

"He's a little cute," Hazel muttered quietly, her cheeks brightening. Piper laughed and punched her in the shoulder gently.

Thalia gagged from next to her, coughing and brushing her spiky black hair out of her eyes. "Him? _Really_?"

She took that as an insult. "What's wrong with him?"

Thalia spit on the linoleum. "That's my cousin, Wise Girl."

She looked back at him awkwardly.

* * *

><p>The second thing she noticed was that maybe, he was a little less intelligent than she thought.<p>

They sat next to each other in social studies class, but he didn't pay her any attention.

Then again, he didn't look like he was paying attention to _anything_.

"Mr. Jackson!" Mrs. Dodds growled, slapping her long ruler on his desk. He jumped, seemingly biting back a scream.

"What?" He said, as nicely as possible.

"Are you paying attention?" She demanded.

". . . maybe?"

"What have I been talking about?"

"Uh, Egyptian pyramids?"

"_Wrong_!" Mrs. Dodds shrieked, making him flinch. The teacher turned abruptly and walked back to the front of the room, forcefully setting her hands down on her desk. "We're studying U.S. history, you ignorant child."

"Oops."

Mrs. Dodds examined him for a bit, using her cold, dark eyes to stare into the poor boy's soul. "I don't think that you will pass this class. You're too stupid for your own good."

He took offense to that.

"I want you to pass, however, so that I never have to see you again. Miss Chase?"

She perked up. "Yes, Mrs. Dodds?"

"You will be his partner for the upcoming project."

Her cheeks reddened. She hoped it wasn't too noticeable, but judging by the amount of snickers, it really was. She could hear Piper teasing, and it took all her willpower to not stand up, march to the back of the room, and promptly punch her in the face.

"I trust you know what to do?" The old lady inquired, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded rapidly, gulping. "Yes, ma'am."

"Jackson, listen to the girl. I expect that you two will get a good grade."

* * *

><p>The third thing she noticed was that he was a little more annoying than she would have hoped.<p>

"So, Wise Girl, huh?"

She jerked her head to the side and found him walking alongside her, wearing only one strap of his backpack. She arched an eyebrow, saying nothing.

"My cousin, Thalia. Your best friend, I think? She calls you 'Wise Girl.' Apparently, you're smart."

"I _am _smart," she replied, standing up a little straighter.

"And conceited," he mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" She demanded sharply, stopping and turning on him.

He held up his hands in defense, probably about to respond with a snarky retort, but he said nothing. He exhaled. "Nothing, never mind. When can we meet?"

She studied him for a bit.

"Stop doing that."

"Stop doing what?" She asked innocently.

"Staring at me. It reminds me of Mrs. Dodds." He trembled convulsively, and she bit her lip to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"We can meet today, if you'd like. After school." She took out a flashcard from her backpack, pressing it up against one of the lockers and writing down her address. She handed it to him. "There's my address. Come by at 5 or something."

He looked down at the card, then back at her. He winked. "Got it."

She realized she was blushing again as he walked down the hall.

* * *

><p>The fourth thing she noticed was how friendly he actually was.<p>

She didn't think it would rain, and therefore, she didn't come prepared, which wasn't something that would usually happen to her.

She wasn't expecting a ride home, though, and she _certainly _wasn't expecting a ride home from _him._

She stomped down the sidewalk, her Converse sneakers (and the rest of her) completely drenched.

"You're wet."

She turned to find him there in his sleek blue sports car, the window of the passenger seat rolled down.

"I know," she replied dully.

"You don't have an umbrella."

"I know," she repeated.

"Or a jacket."

"I know."

"Is that all you're going to say?"

The corners of her small pink lips turned upward. "No."

He grinned crookedly, making butterflies erupt in her stomach. He held up the card she'd given her earlier, the one with her address on it. "Get in the car."

She got into the car with practically no hesitation.

* * *

><p>The fifth thing she noticed was how much her mother seemed to despise him.<p>

After a few knocks, Athena Chase flung open the door. She stared at her before settling her stormy gray eyes on him.

"Who are _you_?" She asked rudely.

"_Mother_!"

"Percy Jackson, ma'am." He stuck out his hand, trying for a nervous smile.

"Why are you here?"

"I—"

"He drove me home, mother," she cut in, shyly tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. "It was raining, mother, and I didn't have any . . . _protection_, I suppose. He let me in his car."

She gasped. "He could have been a _murderer_!"

His eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? I'm not a—"

"Mother, he isn't a murderer. That's a rude accusation," she said sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "If it weren't for him, I'd probably have hypothermia. Be thankful."

Athena regarded him with a cold stare, but sighed. "Very well. But if I _ever _see you with my daughter again—"

"Mother, he's kind of my partner for a project."

Mrs. Chase spoke some rather colorful language.

* * *

><p>The sixth thing she noticed was that he was genuinely a pretty hilarious person.<p>

He marched around her living room in the Abraham Lincoln costume she'd purchased for him, randomly spouting lines from the Gettysburg Address.

"Four score and seven years ago . . . dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal . . . we are met on a great battle-field . . . we cannot consecrate . . ."

And she was just sitting leisurely on the couch, casually filming the whole thing as she seemingly laughed her head off.

He stopped suddenly, turning to face her with a goofy smile on his face. "So, is that good?"

"What?" She stuttered out between giggles.

"Is that enough? For the project?"

She laughed harder. "Percy, I filmed that out of pure humor. During the actual thing, you have to be serious."

* * *

><p>The seventh thing she noticed was that his eyes were absolutely <em>gorgeous. <em>Yes, he was overall a gorgeous person, but his eyes just made everything better.

They were green, which sounds normal, but she thought that they weren't normal. They were green like the sea, like the water that washed onto the sand when she visited the beach with her parents, and she fell in love with the way they lit up whenever he was happy or excited or in a generally good mood.

They were put to good use when he was begging for something, too.

"_Please_?" He whined. "I don't want to be _serious_, seriousness is for losers."

She laughed again. "I promised Mrs. Dodds—"

"No, you didn't!"

"Okay, it was implied. I promised Mrs. Dodds that we'd get a good grade, and if I turn in this video of you stomping around like an idiot with a fake beard and a top hat, she's going to give us a Z."

"You can't even get a Z!"

"My point exactly."

"But I don't wanna!" He complained, pleading with those beautiful eyes.

"You have to."

"I don't want to."

"But you have to."

Then came the five minutes of an intense staring contest.

She gave up.

"Tell you what. You're going to do it, but we're going to go out to dinner. Despite any of my mother's protests. My treat."

He smiled slowly. "Deal."

* * *

><p>The eighth thing she noticed was either that he really was a nice person, or he was just really forgetful.<p>

They'd gone out to The Habit, which wasn't a very expensive restaurant so she was totally fine with spending her money on the meal, but he ended up paying.

She decided not to mention it.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing contentedly. "That was really good."

She smiled at him. "It was indeed."

"I think I ate too much."

"Percy, you ate three burgers, five boxes of fries, and a bag of gummy bears."

He said nothing at first.

"Yeah. I ate too much."

* * *

><p>The ninth thing she noticed was that she was falling in love.<p>

Not only with his eyes, but just with him. With his personality, his appearance, everything.

She was falling in love with Percy Jackson.

He decided to walk her home, since the restaurant wasn't too far away. It was rather dark outside, so when he slipped his hand into hers, she was almost positive he couldn't see her blush.

"We should do this again. Someday."

She smiled again. "We should. We really should."

"What restaurant do you think we should go to?"

"A fancier one would be nice, if my mother doesn't kill me. Or you."

"True." They laughed, and for a moment, they didn't have to worry about anything.

Except the car hurtling toward them, faster than a bullet.

She pushed him, hard, ensuring that he made it safely onto the other sidewalk. She didn't even save enough time to think about herself.

"_Annabeth_!"

* * *

><p>The last thing she noticed was that he actually cared about her.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>quick note as of 110/15 - if you want, i can just put annabeth in a coma and make two other accompanying oneshots, one called "five wishes" in which percy wants annabeth to wake up, and the third being "one promise" which is . . . i think you can tell :) i'll probably edit this one to make it longer as well.**


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